Alternative energy

Alternative energy is any energy source that is an alternative to fossil fuel. These alternatives are intended to address concerns about such fossil fuels.

The nature of what constitutes an alternative energy source has changed considerably over time, as have controversies regarding energy use. Today, because of the variety of energy choices and differing goals of their advocates, defining some energy types as "alternative" is highly controversial.[1]

In a general sense, alternative energy as it is currently conceived, is that which is produced or recovered without the undesirable consequences inherent in fossil fuel use, particularly high carbon dioxide emissions, an important factor in global warming.

Historians of economies have examined the key transitions to alternative energies and regard the transitions as pivotal in bringing about significant economic change.[8][9][10] Prior to the shift to an alternative energy, supplies of the dominant energy type became erratic, accompanied by rapid increases in energy prices.

Historian Norman F. Cantor describes how in the late medieval period, coal was the new alternative fuel to save the society from overuse of the dominant fuel, wood:

"Europeans had lived in the midst of vast forests throughout the earlier medieval centuries. After 1250 they became so skilled at deforestation that by 1500 AD they were running short of wood for heating and cooking... By 1500 Europe was on the edge of a fuel and nutritional disaster, [from] which it was saved in the sixteenth century only by the burning of soft coal and the cultivation of potatoes and maize. "[11]

Whale oil was the dominant form of lubrication and fuel for lamps in the early 19th century, but the depletion of the whale stocks by mid century caused whale oil prices to skyrocket setting the stage for the adoption of petroleum which was first commercialized in Pennsylvania in 1859.[12]

In 1917, Alexander Graham Bell advocated ethanol from corn, wheat and other foods as an alternative to coal and oil, stating that the world was in measurable distance of depleting these fuels. For Bell, the problem requiring an alternative was lack of renewability of orthodox energy sources.[13] Since the 1970s, Brazil has had an ethanol fuel program which has allowed the country to become the world's second largest producer of ethanol (after the United States) and the world's largest exporter.[14] Brazil’s ethanol fuel program uses modern equipment and cheap sugar cane as feedstock, and the residual cane-waste (bagasse) is used to process heat and power.[15] There are no longer light vehicles in Brazil running on pure gasoline. By the end of 2008 there were 35,000 filling stations throughout Brazil with at least one ethanol pump.[16]

Cellulosic ethanol can be produced from a diverse array of feedstocks, and involves the use of the whole crop. This new approach should increase yields and reduce the carbon footprint because the amount of energy-intensive fertilizers and fungicides will remain the same, for a higher output of usable material.[17][18] As of 2008, there are nine commercial cellulosic ethanol plants which are either operating, or under construction, in the United States.[19]

Second-generation biofuels technologies are able to manufacture biofuels from inedible biomass and could hence prevent conversion of food into fuel." [20] As of July 2010, there is one commercial second-generation (2G) ethanol plant Inbicon Biomass Refinery, which is operating in Denmark.[21]

Heat pumps and Thermal energy storage are technologies which use energy sources that normally can't be obtained. Also, heat pumps have the advantage of leveraging electrical power (or in some cases mechanical or thermal power) by using it to extract additional energy from a low quality source (such as sea or lake water, the ground or the air).

Thermal storage technologies allow heat or cold to be stored for periods of time ranging from diurnal to interseasonal, and can involve storage of sensible energy (i.e. by changing the temperature of a medium) or latent energy (e.g. through phase changes of a medium (i.e. changes from solid to liquid or vice versa), such as between water and slush or ice). Energy sources can be natural (via solar-thermal collectors, or dry cooling towers used to collect winter's cold), waste energy (such as from HVAC equipment, industrial processes or power plants), or surplus energy (such as seasonally from hydropower projects or intermittently from wind farms). The Drake Landing Solar Community (Alberta, Canada) is illustrative. Borehole thermal energy storage allows the community to get 97% of its year-round heat from solar collectors on the garage roofs, which most of the heat collected in summer.[22][23] The storages can be insulated tanks, borehole clusters in substrates ranging from gravel to bedrock, deep aquifers, or shallow pits that are lined and insulated. Some applications require inclusion of a heat pump.

Renewable energy is generated from natural resources—such as sunlight,[24]wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat—which are renewable (naturally replenished). When comparing the processes for producing energy, there remain several fundamental differences between renewable energy and fossil fuels. The process of producing oil, coal, or natural gas fuel is a difficult and demanding process that requires a great deal of complex equipment, physical and chemical processes. On the other hand, alternative energy can be widely produced with basic equipment and naturally basic processes. Wood, the most renewable and available alternative energy, burns the same amount of carbon it would emit if it degraded naturally.[25]

Renewable energy sources such as biomass are sometimes regarded as an alternative to ecologically harmful fossil fuels. Renewables are not inherently alternative energies for this purpose. For example, the Netherlands, once leader in use of palm oil as a biofuel, has suspended all subsidies for palm oil due to the scientific evidence that their use "may sometimes create more environmental harm than fossil fuels".[26] The Netherlands government and environmental groups are trying to trace the origins of imported palm oil, to certify which operations produce the oil in a responsible manner.[26] Regarding biofuels from foodstuffs, the realization that converting the entire grain harvest of the US would only produce 16% of its auto fuel needs, and the decimation of Brazil's CO2 absorbing tropical rain forests to make way for biofuel production has made it clear that placing energy markets in competition with food markets results in higher food prices and insignificant or negative impact on energy issues such as global warming or dependence on foreign energy.[27] Recently, alternatives to such undesirable sustainable fuels are being sought, such as commercially viable sources of cellulosic ethanol.

Such renewable fuels alleviate the costs and dependency issues of imported fossil fuels without requiring either electrification of the vehicle fleet or conversion to hydrogen or other fuels, enabling continued compatible and affordable vehicles.[44] Carbon-neutral fuels offer relatively low cost energy storage, alleviating the problems of wind and solar intermittency, and they enable distribution of wind, water, and solar power through existing natural gas pipelines.[44]

Nighttime wind power is considered the most economical form of electrical power with which to synthesize fuel, because the load curve for electricity peaks sharply during the warmest hours of the day, but wind tends to blow slightly more at night than during the day, so, the price of nighttime wind power is often much less expensive than any alternative.[44] Germany has built a 250 kilowatt synthetic methane plant which they are scaling up to 10 megawatts.[34][35][45]

Algae fuel is a biofuel which is derived from algae. During photosynthesis, algae and other photosynthetic organisms capture carbon dioxide and sunlight and convert it into oxygen and biomass. The benefits of algal biofuel are that it can be produced industrially, thereby obviating the use of arable land and food crops (such as soy, palm, and canola), and that it has a very high oil yield as compared to all other sources of biofuel.

Biomass briquettes are being developed in the developing world as an alternative to charcoal. The technique involves the conversion of almost any plant matter into compressed briquettes that typically have about 70% the calorific value of charcoal. There are relatively few examples of large scale briquette production. One exception is in North Kivu, in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, where forest clearance for charcoal production is considered to be the biggest threat to Mountain Gorilla habitat. The staff of Virunga National Park have successfully trained and equipped over 3500 people to produce biomass briquettes, thereby replacing charcoal produced illegally inside the national park, and creating significant employment for people living in extreme poverty in conflict affected areas. [46]

Biogas digestion deals with harnessing the methane gas that is released when waste breaks down. This gas can be retrieved from garbage or sewage systems. Biogas digesters are used to process methane gas by having bacteria break down biomass in an anaerobic environment. [47] The methane gas that is collected and refined can be used as an energy source for various products.

Hydrogen gas is a completely clean burning fuel; its only by-product is water.[48] It also contains relatively high amount of energy compared with other fuels due to its chemical structure.[49]

2H2 + O2 → 2H2O + High Energy

High Energy + 2H2O → 2H2 + O2

This requires a high-energy input, making commercial hydrogen very inefficient.[50] Use of a biological vector as a means to split water, and therefore produce hydrogen gas, would allow for the only energy input to be solar radiation. Biological vectors can include bacteria or more commonly algae. This process is known as biological hydrogen production.[51] It requires the use of single celled organisms to create hydrogen gas through fermentation. Without the presence of oxygen, also known as an anaerobic environment, regular cellular respiration cannot take place and a process known as fermentation takes over. A major by-product of this process is hydrogen gas. If we could implement this on a large scale, then we could take sunlight, nutrients and water and create hydrogen gas to be used as a dense source of energy.[52] Large-scale production has proven difficult. It was not until 1999 that we were able to even induce these anaerobic conditions by sulfur deprivation.[53] Since the fermentation process is an evolutionary back up, turned on during stress, the cells would die after a few days. In 2000, a two-stage process was developed to take the cells in and out of anaerobic conditions and therefore keep them alive.[54] For the last ten years, finding a way to do this on a large-scale has been the main goal of research. Careful work is being done to ensure an efficient process before large-scale production, however once a mechanism is developed, this type of production could solve our energy needs.[55]

Offshore wind farms are similar to regular wind farms, but are located in the ocean. Offshore wind farms can be placed in water up to 40 metres (130 ft) deep, whereas floating wind turbines can float in water up to 700 metres (2,300 ft) deep.[56] The advantage of having a floating wind farm is to be able to harness the winds from the open ocean. Without any obstructions such as hills, trees and buildings, winds from the open ocean can reach up to speeds twice as fast as coastal areas.[56][57]

Significant generation of offshore wind energy already contributes to electricity needs in Europe and Asia and now the first offshore wind farms are under development in U.S. waters. While the offshore wind industry has grown dramatically over the last several decades, especially in Europe, there is still a great deal of uncertainty associated with how the construction and operation of these wind farms affect marine animals and the marine environment.

Traditional offshore wind turbines are attached to the seabed in shallower waters within the nearshore marine environment. As offshore wind technologies become more advanced, floating structures have begun to be used in deeper waters where more wind resources exist.[58]

As an emerging economic sector, there are limited investment opportunities in alternative energy available to the general public. The public can buy shares of alternative energy companies from various stock markets, with wildly volatile returns. The recent IPO of SolarCity demonstrates the nascent nature of this sector- within a few weeks, it already had achieved the second highest market cap within the alternative energy sector.[65]

Investors can also choose to invest in ETFs (exchange-traded funds) that track an alternative energy index, such as the WilderHill New Energy Index.[66] Additionally, there are a number of mutual funds, such as Calvert's Global Alternative Energy Mutual Fund [67] that are a bit more proactive in choosing the selected investments.

Recently, Mosaic Inc. launched an online platform allowing residents of California and New York to invest directly in solar.[68] Investing in solar projects had previously been limited to accredited investors,[69] or a small number of willing banks.

Over the last three years publicly traded alternative energy companies have been very volatile, with some 2007 returns in excess of 100%, some 2008 returns down 90% or more, and peak-to-trough returns in 2009 again over 100%.[citation needed] In general there are three subsegments of “alternative” energy investment: solar energy, wind energy and hybrid electric vehicles. Alternative energy sources which are renewable, free and have lower carbon emissions than what we have now are wind energy, solar energy, geothermal energy, and bio fuels. Each of these four segments involve very different technologies and investment concerns.

For example, photovoltaic solar energy is based on semiconductor processing and accordingly, benefits from steep cost reductions similar to those realized in the microprocessor industry (i.e., driven by larger scale, higher module efficiency, and improving processing technologies). PV solar energy is perhaps the only energy technology whose electricity generation cost could be reduced by half or more over the next 5 years. Better and more efficient manufacturing process and new technology such as advanced thin film solar cell is a good example of that helps to reduce industry cost.[70]

The economics of solar PV electricity are highly dependent on silicon pricing and even companies whose technologies are based on other materials (e.g., First Solar) are impacted by the balance of supply and demand in the silicon market.[citation needed] In addition, because some companies sell completed solar cells on the open market (e.g., Q-Cells), this creates a low barrier to entry for companies that want to manufacture solar modules, which in turn can create an irrational pricing environment.

In contrast, because wind power has been harnessed for over 100 years, its underlying technology is relatively stable. Its economics are largely determined by siting (e.g., how hard the wind blows and the grid investment requirements) and the prices of steel (the largest component of a wind turbine) and select composites (used for the blades). Because current wind turbines are often in excess of 100 meters high, logistics and a global manufacturing platform are major sources of competitive advantage. These issues and others were explored in a research report by Sanford Bernstein. Some of its key conclusions are shown here.[26]

Due to steadily rising gas prices in 2008 with the US national average price per gallon of regular unleaded gas rising above $4.00 at one point,[71] there has been a steady movement towards developing higher fuel efficiency and more alternative fuel vehicles for consumers. In response, many smaller companies have rapidly increased research and development into radically different ways of powering consumer vehicles. Hybrid and battery electric vehicles are commercially available and are gaining wider industry and consumer acceptance worldwide.[72]

For example, Nissan USA introduced the world's first mass-production Electric Vehicle "Nissan Leaf".[73] A plug-in hybrid car, the "Chevrolet Volt" also has been produced, using an electric motor to drive the wheels, and a small four-cylinder engine to generate additional electricity.[74]

Before alternative energy becomes main-stream there are a few crucial obstacles that it must overcome: First there must be increased understanding of how alternative energies work and why they are beneficial; secondly the availability components for these systems must increase; and lastly the pay-off time must be decreased.

There are numerous organizations within the academic, federal, and commercial sectors conducting large scale advanced research in the field of alternative energy. This research spans several areas of focus across the alternative energy spectrum. Most of the research is targeted at improving efficiency and increasing overall energy yields.[76]

The obstacles preventing the large scale implementation of solar powered energy generation is the inefficiency of current solar technology, and the cost. Currently, photovoltaic (PV) panels only have the ability to convert around 16% of the sunlight that hits them into electricity.[84]

Both Sandia National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), have heavily funded solar research programs. The NREL solar program has a budget of around $75 million [85] and develops research projects in the areas of photovoltaic (PV) technology, solar thermal energy, and solar radiation.[86] The budget for Sandia’s solar division is unknown, however it accounts for a significant percentage of the laboratory’s $2.4 billion budget.[87]

Several academic programs have focused on solar research in recent years. The Solar Energy Research Center (SERC) at University of North Carolina (UNC) has the sole purpose of developing cost effective solar technology. In 2008, researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed a method to store solar energy by using it to produce hydrogen fuel from water.[88] Such research is targeted at addressing the obstacle that solar development faces of storing energy for use during nighttime hours when the sun is not shining.

In February 2012, North Carolina-based Semprius Inc., a solar development company backed by German corporation Siemens, announced that they had developed the world’s most efficient solar panel. The company claims that the prototype converts 33.9% of the sunlight that hits it to electricity, more than double the previous high-end conversion rate.[89]

Wind energy research dates back several decades to the 1970s when NASA developed an analytical model to predict wind turbine power generation during high winds.[90] Today, both Sandia National Laboratories and National Renewable Energy Laboratory have programs dedicated to wind research. Sandia’s laboratory focuses on the advancement of materials, aerodynamics, and sensors.[91] The NREL wind projects are centered on improving wind plant power production, reducing their capital costs, and making wind energy more cost effective overall.[92]

The Field Laboratory for Optimized Wind Energy (FLOWE) at Caltech was established to research alternative approaches to wind energy farming technology practices that have the potential to reduce the cost, size, and environmental impact of wind energy production.[93]

As the primary source of biofuels in North America, many organizations are conducting research in the area of ethanol production. On the Federal level, the USDA conducts a large amount of research regarding ethanol production in the United States. Much of this research is targeted toward the effect of ethanol production on domestic food markets.[94]

From 1978 to 1996, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory experimented with using algae as a biofuels source in the "Aquatic Species Program.”[citation needed] A self-published article by Michael Briggs, at the University of New Hampshire Biofuels Group, offers estimates for the realistic replacement of all motor vehicle fuel with biofuels by utilizing algae that have a natural oil content greater than 50%, which Briggs suggests can be grown on algae ponds at wastewater treatment plants.[citation needed] This oil-rich algae can then be extracted from the system and processed into biofuels, with the dried remainder further reprocessed to create ethanol.

The production of algae to harvest oil for biofuels has not yet been undertaken on a commercial scale, but feasibility studies have been conducted to arrive at the above yield estimate. In addition to its projected high yield, algaculture— unlike food crop-based biofuels — does not entail a decrease in food production, since it requires neither farmland nor fresh water. Many companies are pursuing algae bio-reactors for various purposes, including scaling up biofuels production to commercial levels.[100][101]

Several groups in various sectors are conducting research on Jatropha curcas, a poisonous shrub-like tree that produces seeds considered by many to be a viable source of biofuels feedstock oil.[102] Much of this research focuses on improving the overall per acre oil yield of Jatropha through advancements in genetics, soil science, and horticultural practices. SG Biofuels, a San Diego-based Jatropha developer, has used molecular breeding and biotechnology to produce elite hybrid seeds of Jatropha that show significant yield improvements over first generation varieties.[103] The Center for Sustainable Energy Farming (CfSEF) is a Los Angeles-based non-profit research organization dedicated to Jatropha research in the areas of plant science, agronomy, and horticulture. Successful exploration of these disciplines is projected to increase Jatropha farm production yields by 200-300% in the next ten years.[104]

Geothermal energy is produced by tapping into the thermal energy created and stored within the earth. It is considered sustainable because that thermal energy is constantly replenished.[105] However, the science of geothermal energy generation is still young and developing economic viability. Several entities, such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory[106] and Sandia National Laboratories[107] are conducting research toward the goal of establishing a proven science around geothermal energy. The International Centre for Geothermal Research (IGC), a German geosciences research organization, is largely focused on geothermal energy development research.[108]

The generation of alternative energy on the scale needed to replace fossil energy, in an effort to reverse global climate change, is likely to have significant negative environmental impacts. For example, biomass energy generation would have to increase 7-fold to supply current primary energy demand, and up to 40-fold by 2100 given economic and energy growth projections.[112] Humans already appropriate 30 to 40% of all photosynthetically fixed carbon worldwide, indicating that expansion of additional biomass harvesting is likely to stress ecosystems, in some cases precipitating collapse and extinction of animal species that have been deprived of vital food sources.[113][114] The total amount of energy capture by vegetation in the United States each year is around 58 quads (61.5 EJ), about half of which is already harvested as agricultural crops and forest products. The remaining biomass is needed to maintain ecosystem functions and diversity.[115] Since annual energy use in the United States is ca. 100 quads, biomass energy could supply only a very small fraction. To supply the current worldwide energy demand solely with biomass would require more than 10% of the Earth’s land surface, which is comparable to the area use for all of world agriculture (i.e., ca. 1500 million hectares), indicating that further expansion of biomass energy generation will be difficult without precipitating an ethical conflict, given current world hunger statistics, over growing plants for biofuel versus food.[116][117]

Given environmental concerns (e.g., fish migration, destruction of sensitive aquatic ecosystems, etc.) about building new dams to capture hydroelectric energy, further expansion of hydropower in the United States is unlikely. Windpower, if deployed on the large scale necessary to substitute fossil energy, is likely to face public resistance. If 100% of U.S. energy demand were to be supplied by windmills, about 80 million hectares (i.e., more than 40% of all available farmland in the United States) would have to be covered with large windmills (50m hub height and 250 to 500 m apart).[118] It is therefore not surprising that the major environmental impact of wind power is related to land use and less to wildlife (birds, bats, etc.) mortality. Unless only a relatively small fraction of electricity is generated by windmills in remote locations, it is unlikely that the public will tolerate large windfarms given concerns about blade noise and aesthetics.[119][120]

There are additional issues that may arise from switching to alternative energy. “Increasing the nation’s use of natural gas for electricity generation could result in adverse economic consequences”, especially since “natural gas currently costs about four times more than coal”.[121][dated info] Furthermore, if there were a widespread switching to natural gas from coal some countries would become increasingly dependent on international supplies. Also, “large-scale fuel switching would require substantial investments in pipeline storage and storage capacity and new terminals to process imported natural gas”.[121] There is also the question of whether to convert existing coal-burning plants or to construct new ones. “Burning natural gas at an existing coal plant would require a pipeline with the ability to meet the plant’s fuel supply requirements”.[121] It would also require “expansion of interstate and intrastate pipelines to transport increased volumes of natural gas” [121] Overall it would be more feasible and cost-effective to construct new natural gas units than to switch coal-burning plants.

^Dr Roger White, Institute of Archaeology and Antiquity, University of Birmingham (2006-05-13). "Trees and Woods: Myths and Realities" (doc). Lecture: The Essential Role of Forests and Wood in the Age of Iron (Commonwealth Forestry Association). Archived from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-14. Note: Dr. White specifically refers to coal as a 17th century alternative fuel in this paper.

^Alexander Graham Bell (1917). Prizes for the Inventor: Some of the Problems Awaiting Solution. The National Geographic Magazine (National Geographic Society). p. 133. Retrieved 2008-12-14. Lay summary. In relation to coal and oil, the world's annual consumption has become so enormous that we are now actually within measurable distance of the end of the supply. What shall we do when we have no more coal or oil! .... There is, however, one other source of fuel supply which may perhaps this problem of the future. Alcohol makes a beautiful, clean and efficient fuel, and where not intended for human consumption can be manufactured very cheaply from corn stalks and in fact from almost any vegetable matter capable of fermentation.

^M.R. Schmer, K.P. Vogel, R.B. Mitchell, R.K. Perrin (2008). "Net energy of cellulosic ethanol from switchgrass". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America105 (2): 464–469. doi:10.1073/pnas.0704767105. PMID18180449.

^Elliott, D.L., L.L. Wendell, and G.L. Gower (1992), "Wind energy potential in the United States considering environmental and land use exclusions", In: Proceedings of the Biennial Congress of the International Solar Energy Society – Solar World Congress in Denver, Colorado, edited by M.E. Ardan, S.M.A. Burley, and M. Coleman, Pergamon, Oxford, UK.

^ abcdThe US Senate and House of Representatives. (2008). "Economic and Other Implications of Switching from Coal to Natural Gas at the Capitol Power Plant and at Electricity-Generating Units Nationwide". United States Government Accountability Office. Washington, DC

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